She is not related to the late media mogul, Ken Thomson, once touted as Canada's richest man.

Nor does the 42-year-old have a wealthy benefactor or uber-fundraiser ready to cut a cheque to cover the costs of a mayoralty campaign.

Her bid, she tells me, is completely "grassroots" - supported with resources and money so far by the women she's helped in the last eight years as publisher of the Women's Post magazine.

Still, why would someone who has no name recognition, virtually no political experience and two young children (3 and 5) want to run to lead a city with a $9-billion-plus budget and a $3-billion debt?

Why would the petite woman (she's five-foot-two) want to jump into a race dominated at the moment by 20 male challengers?

"My life has been so great ... I've been blessed ... I just feel it's time to pay back," she tells me.

What she lacks in polish - and she could use some media training - the self-made business woman makes up for in passion, spunk and a "ballsiness" underlying her gentle exterior.

"To me it's about being smart and having the leadership skills and the vision," she said.

Toronto-born Thomson says she left her Burlington home at age 15 and lived on the streets of the Church and Wellesley area, and in Vancouver for six months - surviving by couch-surfing with the people she met and by periodically sleeping outside.

For money, she said she panhandled and sold flowers she found on the streets.

"I thought I knew everything," she said.

At 18, she created her own business, Whatmough Management, working on commission to revive failing gas stations for 12 years. Soon Sarah's Co-op and Sarah's Sunoco stations began to appear in various Canadian cities.

"I was the top dealer at 20 years old," she said.

While operating another company engaged in renovating old houses in Hamilton, she came up against municipal red tape.

That made her decide - at age 28 - to run for Hamilton city council against two long-time incumbents.

"I just thought I've got to shake things up a bit ... I want to put the issues on the table," she said.

She thought she had little chance of winning.

She ended up coming within 200 votes of an upset.

Recognizing the power of the press during the campaign, she started her own local paper called the Hamilton Examiner, which took on the Hamilton Spectator.

"I learned it (newspapering) from the ground up," she said.

She ended up selling the local paper.

But that whet her appetite for the media world. Moving to Toronto, she approached Conrad Black and Leonard Asper for backing to create a serious magazine for business women.

She said when they declined - saying her idea would never work - she started the Women's Post anyway with the money she'd made from her earlier ventures.

Eight years later, the publication has 45 employees, a print run of 70,000 and some 350,000 readers.

It is now printed in typical magazine format and on heavier stock.

She has no doubt her bid to become mayor will be "challenging." While she would not talk about the specifics of her platform - some of those will be unveiled at a noon press conference Tuesday - she believes she is the best bet precisely because she's not a "backroom operator" but can draw on 24 years of successful business experience.

She did say she will approach the race with ideas from the left and right - giving a hint that her focus will be on the big issues that could save the city "a lot of money" and pay down the debt, including the waste in the homeless file.

"Imagine we had the best of the best on council ... not a bunch of politicians who know how to politic and that's all," she said. "(Imagine if it were about) people who really know how to get things done."

Uber-fundraiser Ralph Lean said Thomson called him "cold" three months ago and came in to see him for support. He says he liked her a lot, finding her "passionate, engaging and charming."

Nevertheless, he said he cautioned her that she could potentially "embarrass herself" by doing so badly in the race, she'd be written off as a fringe candidate.

Thomson is non-plussed.

"I've lived on the street ... I've been able to create something from nothing but an idea," she said. "I've got the guts and determination to do what it takes ... embarrassment is not even an issue."

-sue-ann.levy@sunmedia.ca

Thomson on the issues:

* The Adrian Heaps issue: "I don't think it should have ever gotten to this point ... They (councillors) should have listened to their legal counsel ... They didn't set a good example."

* The island airport: "We are a dynamic city ... this needs to be part of our growth."

* Term limits: "There should be term limits ... I don't think it's a good idea to have lifers (on council) ... you need new ideas constantly."

* Freezing council's pay: "I'm not in it for the pay ... But there are more important issues that could save us millions and millions of dollars."

While their repair backlog continued to grow, along with outstanding rent arrears, TCHC brass spent 18 months and $240,000 on consultant studies to determine whether their pay and perqs were high enough, the Toronto Sun has learned.